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Marshall Cavendish International - Ling Yap Chan

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192 pages

English

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The year is 1883. China is dithering on the verge of bankruptcy. In the countryside antagonism against foreigners and missionaries is growing and the warlords are at large. Li Ling, a young peasant girl in China, flees to Malaya to escape being made a concubine to a warlord only to find herself tricked into becoming a second wife to a rich man with sadistic tendencies. Her life becomes intertwined with that of her rescuer, Shao Peng, the daughter of a rich and powerful Chinese family that had established themselves in Malaya. Read about their lives in a Malaya that is rapidly transforming under British rule. A Flash of Water follows New Beginnings and together with Sweet Offerings and Bitter-Sweet Harvest forms a quadrilogy, which traces the lives of one family against the turbulent political, economic and social changes in China and Malaya.

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Historical fiction

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Publié par	Marshall Cavendish International
Date de parution	05 octobre 2015
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9789814721516
Langue	English

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Praise for Sweet Offerings, Bitter-Sweet Harvest and New Beginnings
Chan Ling Yap s third novel New Beginnings has all the assurance of her first two successes - and more. A strong story line, deftly rendered in brief and readable instalments, takes us from the turbulence of a China unmercifully exploited with opium by the western powers in Victorian times, to the race and clan rivalries of an emerging Singapore and Malaya. The beautiful and tragic figure of Hua might serve as a metaphor for the suffering sub-continent; and that of her husband Ngao for the resilience of the Chinese themselves.
The refinement and the thuggery of China alike, the bustle of Singapore and the tropical potential of Malaya in those days are all made to feel familiar rather than foreign, the high emotions to be shared rather than differentiate us. The characters are entirely believable, the degree of background colour is perfectly judged, and the pace seductive: don t be surprised if you find you read this book at a sitting.
-Bill Jackson,
Editor of The Corporal and the Celestial
Bitter-Sweet Harvest is one of 4 Books you Won t Want to Put Down . A controversial page-turner ... heart breaking and thought provoking.
-Review from Cosmopolitan (Singapore, January 2012)
Bitter-Sweet Harvest is a love story beautifully and engagingly told. It reflects the complex ethnic, religious and social tensions of Malaysia and beyond-all made vivid through the experience of characters, movingly depicted, and the exciting action, which carries the reader briskly from page to page.
-Dato (Dr) Erik Jensen,
Author of Where Hornbills Fly
Tautly written, Chan Ling Yap s second novel is a powerful story of the problems of intercultural marriage that can arise from family interference. With a superbly woven plot, Bitter-Sweet Harvest leads the reader through a minefield of cultural, ethnic and religious conflicts. Compelling and gripping, I found I could not put down this tragic saga of missed opportunities for the lovers. A poignant love story that is highly recommended!
-Professor Bill Edeson,
Professorial Fellow, University of Wollongong
Sweet Offerings is a great read with real emotion and such detail as one can almost smell the atmosphere coming from the pages. Also I cannot recall ever reading a book where the very last word carried so much meaning for the future.
-Chris Allen
A FLASH of WATER
2016 Chan Ling Yap
Cover designed by Cover Kitchen Pte Ltd
Published by Marshall Cavendish Editions An imprint of Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Pte Ltd 1 New Industrial Road, Singapore 536196
All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Request for permission should be addressed to the Publisher, Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited, 1 New Industrial Road, Singapore 536196. Tel: (65) 6213 9300, fax: (65) 6285 4871. E-mail: genrefsales@sg.marshallcavendish.com , Website: www.marshallcavendish.com/genref
The publisher makes no representation or warranties with respect to the contents of this book, and specifically disclaims any implied warranties or merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose, and shall in no events be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
While some of the background and characters are based on historical events and figures, this novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed are the work of the author s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
Other Marshall Cavendish Offices: Marshall Cavendish Corporation. 99 White Plains Road, Tarrytown NY 10591-9001, USA Marshall Cavendish International (Thailand) Co Ltd. 253 Asoke, 12th Flr, Sukhumvit 21 Road, Klongtoey Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand Marshall Cavendish (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Times Subang, Lot 46, Subang Hi-Tech Industrial Park, Batu Tiga, 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Marshall Cavendish is a trademark of Times Publishing Limited
National Library Board Singapore Cataloguing in Publication Data Yap, Chan Ling, author. A Flash of Water. - Singapore : Marshall Cavendish Editions, 2015 pages cm
e-ISBN: 978 981 4721 51 6 1. Malaya - History - Fiction. 2. China - Social conditions - 19th century - Fiction. I. Title.
PR6125.A35
M823.92 - dc23 OCN919288742
Printed in Singapore by Markono Print Media Pte Ltd
Dedication
In loving memory of my husband Tony Loftas.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Ann Smith, Gabriel Anderson and Marian Gosling for reading my draft manuscript and their commitment to the book.
Thanks also go to my son, Lee Loftas, for his comments.
Author s Note
A Flash of Water follows New Beginnings and together with Sweet Offerings and Bitter-Sweet Harvest forms a quadrilogy, which traces the lives of one family against the turbulent political, economic and social changes in China and Malaya. The stories are complete in themselves and could be read on their own.

Chapter 1
T HE PEDALS WERE rough under her bare feet. Li Ling could feel the uneven texture of the wood grate into her soles. She pushed hard shifting her weight from side to side. The wheel groaned. Water gushed through, rippling down the narrow channels into the land all round her.
Li Ling looked up with a triumphant smile on her face. Her cheeks were flushed from the effort of working the water wheel. She could see her mother standing in the glistening paddy field with her cotton trousers rolled up high on her calves. She raised a hand to wave at the diminutive figure but her mother was too busy to notice. Over and over again, Ah Lan retrieved green shoots from the basket she carried on one hip and pushed them into the wet soil. Under the sweltering midday sun, the flooded ground glimmered black, like a still pond.
On the other side of the field, beyond the raised bund that separated it from another plot, her father was pulling a wooden plough, his back bent under its weight. Ribbons of turned-up soil followed him as he trundled forward in the soft mud. His feet sank deep with each step, the strain on his shoulders seen in the tendons bunched tight on his neck. It would take the whole day to plough that part of the field; and then it too would have to be flooded.
Li Ling grinned at her little brother pedalling beside her. Although he was still small for the work, his weight provided a useful balance. Once the momentum of the pedals was set, she could manage. Moreover she could hardly leave him alone at home for she could not look after him there and work the waterwheel at the same time.
Shall we sing a song? she asked.
Bu yao! No! I don t want to. I am tired. You sing. Bao stuck out his lower lip in petulant rebellion. Suddenly his eyes brightened with excitement. Look! He pointed to a group of men coming towards them. There were five of them. They walked with an exaggerated swagger; their unbuttoned tunics flapped open with the breeze to reveal smooth muscular torsos. Their shaven foreheads glinted with the sun s glaring heat. With a quick practised flick of their heads, they swung back their long queues, thick braids of black hair like oiled ropes, and yelled. Their voices resonated across the field.
Hush! Li Ling said to her brother. Don t attract their attention.
She saw the men heading towards her father. He must have seen their approach. He had already dropped the yoke and was hastening towards them. Even from where she was, she could sense the fear in her father s movements.
Ah Lan ran towards her children gesturing all the while towards the north. She flung both her arms out. Go! Go! she mouthed. In her haste she dropped her basket of seedlings. She stumbled; her feet sank deep into the soft mud; she picked herself up and lurched once more towards the children. She stumbled again, and as her knees connected with the earth, her hands made wide sweeping movements. Move! Run! the flailing arms seemed to say.
Li Ling jumped, dragging her brother along with her. They ran towards the dry bunds. From there they could move fast to the hedge and beyond. There was a little cave hidden behind the grove of trees. There they would wait for their mother. They had practised this drill before. Her parents had drummed into her over and over again that in times of emergency, she should run into the caves and wait till someone came to fetch her. She turned to look over her shoulder. Taken by surprise, the five men too were running, branching out to encircle the scattering figures when suddenly they seemed to change their minds. From the corner of her eye, she could see them regrouping and striding towards their father.
Don t look back! her mother shouted. She had seen her daughter hesitate.
Reluctantly, Li Ling continued. She pulled her brother along, her feet pummelling the dry path that verged round the wet fields until she reached grassland. She could feel her brother Bao lagging. She dropped to her knees and motioned him to climb on her back, Hang on tight, she said. She hitched him up on her back. Her mother s words came to her. Always take care of your brother; he is called Bao, precious, because he is our only son and you have to take care of him always. He comes first before all things. Remember! Bao carries our family name.
And me? Li Ling had asked.
Ah my little daughter, said Ah Lan, brushing a strand of hair away from Li Ling s face. You are a girl. When you marry you become part of another household. I love you dearly. However, as my own mother reminds me, we women are fang jian shui, just a flash of water to our own family. Once we marry, we disappear into the earth, soaked up with